In the document submitted to the Supreme Court, the State of Paraná responded to Loterj's claim that the Paraná State Lottery (Lottopar) is unable to impose the “geolocation lock” and that, therefore, it would not have control over the virtual offering of lottery products by its accredited agents, whether within or outside the territorial limits of the State of Paraná.
The State of Paraná is an amicus curiae in the case, that is, a third party that provides information in the case.
According to the State of Paraná, Loterj was notified of the decision on January 2 and had five days to comply with the court order, which expired on January 9. “More than 14 days have passed since the deadline, and it has still not complied with the injunction, in clear affront to this distinguished Supreme Federal Court,” the document states.
The State of Paraná says that it is possible to implement territorial restrictions and has done so. Furthermore, it emphasized that the implementation of geolocation tools does not require direct technical intervention by the government, whether by Loterj or Lottopar. According to the State of Paraná, the responsibility for adopting the technologies lies entirely with the operators.
“Therefore, the claim of technical difficulties in implementing these mechanisms is unfounded and completely incompatible with the practical reality and the technological resources currently available,” the text states. “Such claims constitute an attempt to gain time and postpone compliance with the court decision,” it adds.
On January 2, Minister André Mendonça granted an injunction and suspended the national operation of fixed-odds bets (“bets”) that had been carried out by companies accredited by Loterj.
As such, the ‘Bets’ accredited by Loterj cannot offer the service outside the territory of Rio de Janeiro. The injunction will be submitted for analysis by the other ministers in a virtual plenary session from February 14 to 21, 2025. Loterj has already filed an appeal, but it was denied.
Source: Valor
